SQL cheat sheet

Comprehensive

Data Manipulation Language (DML) Commands

Command Description Syntax Example

SELECT The SELECT command retrieves SELECT column1, column2 FROM SELECT first_name, last_name
data from a database. table_name; FROM customers;

INSERT The INSERT command adds new INSERT INTO table_name INSERT INTO customers
records to a table. (column1, column2) VALUES (first_name, last_name)
(value1, value2); VALUES ('Mary', 'Doe');

UPDATE The UPDATE command is used UPDATE table_name SET column1 UPDATE employees SET
to modify existing records in a = value1, column2 = value2 employee_name = ‘John Doe’,
table. WHERE condition; department = ‘Marketing’;

DELETE The DELETE command removes DELETE FROM table_name WHERE DELETE FROM employees WHERE
records from a table. condition; employee_name = ‘John Doe’;

Data Definition Language (DDL) Commands

Command Description Syntax Example

CREATE The CREATE command creates a CREATE TABLE table_name CREATE TABLE employees (
new database and objects, such (column1 datatype1, employee_id INT
as a table, index, view, or stored column2 datatype2, ...); PRIMARY KEY,
procedure. first_name
VARCHAR(50),
last_name
VARCHAR(50),
age INT
);

ALTER The ALTER command adds, ALTER TABLE table_name ALTER TABLE customers ADD
deletes, or modifies columns in ADD column_name datatype; email VARCHAR(100);
an existing table.

DROP The DROP command is used to DROP TABLE table_name; DROP TABLE customers;
drop an existing table in a database.

TRUNCATE The TRUNCATE command is TRUNCATE TABLE TRUNCATE TABLE customers;

used to delete the data inside a table_name;
table, but not the table itself.
Data Control Language (DCL) Commands
Command Description
GRANT The GRANT command is used to
give specific privileges to users
or roles.
REVOKE The REVOKE command is used
to take away privileges
previously granted to users or
roles.
Querying Data Commands
Command Description
SELECT Statement The SELECT statement is the
primary command used to
retrieve data from a database
WHERE Clause The WHERE clause is used to
filter rows based on a specified
condition.
ORDER BY Clause The ORDER BY clause is used to
sort the result set in ascending
or descending order based on a
specified column.
GROUP BY Clause The GROUP BY clause groups
rows based on the values in a
specified column. It is often
used with aggregate functions
like COUNT, SUM, AVG, etc.
HAVING Clause The HAVING clause filters
grouped results based on a
specified condition.
Syntax Example
GRANT SELECT, INSERT ON GRANT SELECT, INSERT ON
table_name TO user_name; employees TO ‘John Doe’;
REVOKE SELECT, INSERT ON REVOKE SELECT, INSERT ON
table_name FROM employees FROM ‘John
user_name; Doe’;
Syntax Example
SELECT column1, column2 SELECT first_name,
FROM table_name; last_name FROM customers;
SELECT * FROM table_name SELECT * FROM customers
WHERE condition; WHERE age > 30;
SELECT * FROM table_name SELECT * FROM products
ORDER BY column_name ORDER BY price DESC;
ASC|DESC;
SELECT column_name, SELECT category, COUNT(*)
COUNT(*) FROM table_name FROM products GROUP BY
GROUP BY column_name; category;
SELECT column_name, SELECT category, COUNT(*)
COUNT(*) FROM table_name FROM products GROUP BY
GROUP BY column_name category HAVING COUNT(*)
HAVING condition; > 5;
Joining Commands
Command Description
INNER JOIN The INNER JOIN command
returns rows with matching
values in both tables.
LEFT JOIN/LEFT OUTER JOIN The LEFT JOIN command
returns all rows from the left
table (first table) and the
matching rows from the right
table (second table).
RIGHT JOIN/RIGHT OUTER The RIGHT JOIN command
JOIN returns all rows from the right
table (second table) and the
matching rows from the left
table (first table).
FULL JOIN/FULL OUTER JOIN The FULL JOIN command
returns all rows when there is a
match in either the left table or
the right table.
CROSS JOIN The CROSS JOIN command
combines every row from the
first table with every row from
the second table, creating a
Cartesian product.
SELF JOIN The SELF JOIN command joins
a table with itself.
NATURAL JOIN The NATURAL JOIN command
matches columns with the
same name in both tables.
Syntax Example
SELECT * FROM table1 SELECT * FROM employees
INNER JOIN table2 ON INNER JOIN departments ON
table1.column = employees.department_id =
table2.column; departments.id;
SELECT * FROM table1 LEFT SELECT * FROM employees LEFT
JOIN table2 ON JOIN departments ON
table1.column = employees.department_id =
table2.column; departments.id;
SELECT * FROM table1 SELECT *
RIGHT JOIN table2 ON FROM employees
table1.column = RIGHT JOIN departments
table2.column; ON employees.department_id =
departments.department_id;
SELECT * FROM table1 FULL SELECT *
JOIN table2 ON FROM employees
table1.column = LEFT JOIN departments ON
table2.column; employees.employee_id =
departments.employee_id
UNION
SELECT *
FROM employees
RIGHT JOIN departments ON
employees.employee_id =
departments.employee_id;
SELECT * FROM table1 SELECT * FROM employees
CROSS JOIN table2; CROSS JOIN departments;
SELECT * FROM table1 t1, SELECT * FROM employees t1,
table1 t2 WHERE t1.column employees t2
= t2.column; WHERE t1.employee_id =
t2.employee_id;
SELECT * FROM table1 SELECT * FROM employees
NATURAL JOIN table2; NATURAL JOIN departments;
Subqueries in SQL
Command Description
IN The IN command is used to
determine whether a value
matches any value in a subquery
result. It is often used in the
WHERE clause.
ANY The ANY command is used to
compare a value to any value
returned by a subquery. It can
be used with comparison
operators like =, >, <, etc.
ALL The ALL command is used to
compare a value to all values
returned by a subquery. It can
be used with comparison
operators like =, >, <, etc.
Aggregate Functions Commands
Command Description
COUNT() The COUNT command counts
the number of rows or non-null
values in a specified column.
SUM() The SUM command is used to
calculate the sum of all values in
a specified column.
AVG() The AVG command is used to
calculate the average (mean) of
all values in a specified column.
MIN() The MIN command returns the
minimum (lowest) value in a
specified column.
MAX() The MAX command returns the
maximum (highest) value in a
specified column.
Syntax Example
SELECT column(s) FROM SELECT * FROM customers
table WHERE value IN WHERE city IN (SELECT
(subquery); city FROM suppliers);
SELECT column(s) FROM SELECT * FROM products
table WHERE value < ANY WHERE price < ANY (SELECT
(subquery); unit_price FROM
supplier_products);
SELECT column(s) FROM SELECT * FROM orders
table WHERE value > ALL WHERE order_amount > ALL
(subquery); (SELECT total_amount FROM
previous_orders);
Syntax Example
SELECT COUNT(column_name) SELECT COUNT(age) FROM
FROM table_name; employees;
SELECT SUM(column_name) SELECT SUM(revenue) FROM
FROM table_name; sales;
SELECT AVG(column_name) SELECT AVG(price) FROM
FROM table_name; products;
SELECT MIN(column_name) SELECT MIN(price) FROM
FROM table_name; products;
SELECT MAX(column_name) SELECT MAX(price) FROM
FROM table_name; products;
String Functions in SQL
Command Description
CONCAT() The CONCAT command
concatenates two or more
strings into a single string.
SUBSTRING()/SUBSTR() The SUBSTRING command
extracts a substring from a
string.
CHAR_LENGTH()/LENGTH() The LENGTH command returns
the length (number of
characters) of a string.
UPPER() The UPPER command converts
all characters in a string to
uppercase.
LOWER() The LOWER command converts
all characters in a string to
lowercase.
TRIM() The TRIM command removes
specified prefixes or suffixes (or
whitespace by default) from a
string.
LEFT() The LEFT command returns a
specified number of characters
from the left of a string.
RIGHT() The RIGHT command returns a
specified number of characters
from the right of a string.
REPLACE() The REPLACE command
replaces occurrences of a
substring within a string.
Syntax Example
SELECT CONCAT(string1, SELECT CONCAT(first_name,
string2, ...) AS ' ', last_name) AS
concatenated_string FROM full_name FROM employees;
table_name;
SELECT SUBSTRING(string SELECT
FROM start_position [FOR SUBSTRING(product_name
length]) AS substring FROM 1 FOR 5) AS
FROM table_name; substring FROM products;
SELECT SELECT
CHAR_LENGTH(string) AS CHAR_LENGTH(product_name)
length FROM table_name; AS length FROM products;
SELECT UPPER(string) AS SELECT UPPER(first_name)
uppercase_string FROM AS uppercase_first_name
table_name; FROM employees;
SELECT LOWER(string) AS SELECT LOWER(last_name)
lowercase_string FROM AS lowercase_last_name
table_name; FROM employees;
SELECT TRIM([LEADING | SELECT TRIM(TRAILING ' '
TRAILING | BOTH] FROM full_name) AS
characters FROM string) trimmed_full_name FROM
AS trimmed_string FROM customers;
table_name;
SELECT LEFT(string, SELECT
num_characters) AS LEFT(product_name, 5)
left_string FROM AS left_product_name
table_name;
FROM products;
SELECT RIGHT(string, SELECT
num_characters) AS RIGHT(order_number, 4) AS
right_string FROM right_order_number FROM
table_name; orders;
SELECT REPLACE(string, SELECT
old_substring, REPLACE(description,
new_substring) AS 'old_string',
replaced_string FROM 'new_string') AS
table_name; replaced_description FROM
product_descriptions;
Date and Time SQL Commands

Command Description Syntax Example

CURRENT_DATE() The CURRENT_DATE command SELECT CURRENT_DATE() AS

returns the current date. current_date;

CURRENT_TIME() The CURRENT_TIME command SELECT CURRENT_TIME() AS

returns the current time. current_time;

CURRENT_TIMESTAMP() The CURRENT_TIMESTAMP SELECT

command returns the current CURRENT_TIMESTAMP() AS
date and time. current_timestamp;

DATE_PART() The DATE_PART command SELECT DATE_PART('part',

extracts a specific part (e.g., date_expression) AS
year, month, day) from a date or extracted_part;
time.

DATE_ADD()/DATE_SUB() The DATE_ADD command adds SELECT

or subtracts a specified number DATE_ADD(date_expression,
of days, months, or years INTERVAL value unit) AS
to/from a date. new_date;

EXTRACT() The EXTRACT command SELECT EXTRACT(part FROM

extracts a specific part (e.g., date_expression) AS
year, month, day) from a date or extracted_part;
time.

TO_CHAR() The TO_CHAR command SELECT

converts a date or time to a TO_CHAR(date_expression,
specified format. 'format') AS
formatted_date;

TIMESTAMPDIFF() The TIMESTAMPDIFF command SELECT

calculates the difference TIMESTAMPDIFF(unit,
between two timestamps in a timestamp1, timestamp2)
specified unit (e.g., days, hours, AS difference;
minutes).

DATEDIFF() The DATEDIFF command SELECT DATEDIFF(date1,

calculates the difference in days date2) AS
between two dates. difference_in_days;
Conditional Expressions

Command Description Syntax Example

CASE Statement The CASE statement allows you SELECT SELECT

to perform conditional logic column1, order_id,
within a query. column2, total_amount,
CASE CASE
WHEN condition1 WHEN total_amount
THEN result1 > 1000 THEN 'High Value
WHEN condition2 Order'
THEN result2 WHEN total_amount
ELSE > 500 THEN 'Medium Value
default_result Order'
END AS alias ELSE 'Low Value
FROM table_name; Order'
END AS order_status
FROM orders;

IF() Function The IF() function evaluates a SELECT IF(condition, SELECT

condition and returns a value true_value, false_value) name,
based on the evaluation. AS alias FROM table_name; age,
IF(age > 50,
'Senior', 'Junior') AS
employee_category
FROM employees;

COALESCE() Function The COALESCE() function SELECT COALESCE(value1, SELECT

returns the first non-null value value2, ...) AS alias COALESCE(first_name,
from a list of values. FROM table_name; middle_name) AS
preferred_name
FROM employees;

NULLIF() Function The NULLIF() function returns SELECT SELECT

null if two specified expressions NULLIF(expression1, NULLIF(total_amount,
are equal. expression2) AS alias discounted_amount) AS
FROM table_name; diff_amount FROM orders;
Set Operations

Command Description Syntax Example

UNION The UNION operator combines SELECT column1, column2 SELECT first_name,
the result sets of two or more FROM table1 last_name FROM customers
SELECT statements into a single UNION UNION
result set. SELECT column1, column2 SELECT first_name,
FROM table2; last_name FROM employees;

INTERSECT The INTERSECT operator returns SELECT column1, column2 SELECT first_name,
the common rows that appear in FROM table1 last_name FROM customers
both result sets. INTERSECT INTERSECT
SELECT column1, column2 SELECT first_name,
FROM table2; last_name FROM employees;

EXCEPT The EXCEPT operator returns SELECT column1, column2 SELECT first_name,
the distinct rows from the left FROM table1 last_name FROM customers
result set that are not present in EXCEPT EXCEPT
the right result set. SELECT column1, column2 SELECT first_name,
FROM table2; last_name FROM employees;

Transaction Control Commands

Command Description Syntax Example

COMMIT The COMMIT command is used COMMIT; BEGIN TRANSACTION;

to save all the changes made
during the current transaction -- SQL statements and
and make them permanent. changes within the
transaction

INSERT INTO employees

(name, age) VALUES
('Alice', 30);
UPDATE products SET price
= 25.00 WHERE category =
'Electronics';

COMMIT;

ROLLBACK The ROLLBACK command is ROLLBACK; BEGIN TRANSACTION;

used to undo all the changes
made during the current -- SQL statements and
transaction and discard them. changes within the
transaction

INSERT INTO employees

 (name, age) VALUES
('Bob', 35);
UPDATE products SET price
= 30.00 WHERE category =
'Electronics';

ROLLBACK;

SAVEPOINT The SAVEPOINT command is SAVEPOINT savepoint_name; BEGIN TRANSACTION;

used to set a point within a
transaction to which you can INSERT INTO employees
later roll back. (name, age) VALUES
('Carol', 28);

SAVEPOINT before_update;

UPDATE products SET price

= 40.00 WHERE category =
'Electronics';

SAVEPOINT after_update;

DELETE FROM customers

WHERE age > 60;

ROLLBACK TO
before_update;

-- At this point, the

DELETE is rolled back,
but the UPDATE remains.

COMMIT;

ROLLBACK TO SAVEPOINT The ROLLBACK TO SAVEPOINT ROLLBACK TO SAVEPOINT BEGIN TRANSACTION;

command is used to roll back to savepoint_name;
a specific savepoint within a INSERT INTO employees
transaction. (name, age) VALUES
('David', 42);

SAVEPOINT before_update;

UPDATE products SET price

= 50.00 WHERE category =
'Electronics';

SAVEPOINT after_update;

DELETE FROM customers

WHERE age > 60;

-- Rollback to the
savepoint before the
update
ROLLBACK TO SAVEPOINT
before_update;

-- At this point, the

UPDATE is rolled back,
but the INSERT remains.

SET TRANSACTION The SET TRANSACTION
command is used to configure
properties for the current
transaction, such as isolation
level and transaction mode.
COMMIT;
SET TRANSACTION BEGIN TRANSACTION;
[ISOLATION LEVEL { READ
COMMITTED | SERIALIZABLE -- Set the isolation
}] level to READ COMMITTED
SET TRANSACTION ISOLATION
LEVEL READ COMMITTED;
-- SQL statements and
changes within the
transaction
INSERT INTO employees
(name, age) VALUES
('Emily', 35);
UPDATE products SET price
= 60.00 WHERE category =
'Electronics';
COMMIT;